Suggestions on Nashua neighborhoods & schools? (Derry, Londonderry: rental, condos, houses)

[BostonMom2Four]

Hi,

We plan to move to the Nashua area in January, and would love to get suggestions on specific neighborhoods and schools. We have 4 children, oldest 2 are in 4th and 2nd grade this Fall. Have heard good things about Charlotte Ave. and Bicentennial schools.

We will be planning to rent a 3-4 bedroom single family house, aiming for around $2500 for rent plus utilities max.

We'd really like to be in a neighborhood with a LOT of kids and families, within walking/biking distance. Very tired of city life and arranging "playdates" I have to drive my kids to

We're not locked into Nashua itself, and would consider surrounding towns as long as we can be within commuting distance of Woburn, MA and also have enough of a "neighborhood" feeling (i.e. not too spread out/rural).

Thanks so much to anyone who replies!

(P.S. Please don't hold the "Boston" part against us - we don't belong here!! )

[windchime]

The entire Nashua school district is pretty good and I imagine even better now that the city has two high schools. Main Dunstable School is good and I would think there is plenty of rental (not sure on houses, but there are larger condos). On the other side of town off Broad Street, there are two elementary schools (both very good) Birch Hill and Broad Street Schools. There are plenty of different types of neighborhoods (older, newer, condos) off that road. Best of luck.

[BostonMom2Four]

Are there surrounding towns that have much better schools than Nashua? Just curious...

[aimhigh]

We recently moved away from Nashua, NH. Bicenntenial school is a great school! One of the top rated in the area. THe neighborhoods there are nice, close to everything and really taken care of. Lots of sidewalk areas, close to the mall, etc.
The high schools are ok.....just ok. Although they have two high schools now, they are both somewhat crowded. You really have to be on top of the teachers to communicate with you. I loved the elementary schools, but was not very fond of the middle/high schools in Nashua. I am not familiar with all middle schools. My older son attended Fairgrounds and I was not impressed. I am sure there are other middle schools that would be much better.
I believe Nashua HIgh School North is better rated than South (which my kids attended...) but Bicenntenial is in the South district. I think.
Good luck with your move!!!

[Princess Keekee]

GreatSchools.net has a lot of input from local parents and schools. Pretty good resource. But yes, Bicentennial, Charlotte Ave, Birch Hill and Main Dunstable have good ratings. As for neighborhoods, take your pick! There are plenty of nice neighborhoods in Nashua. Good luck with your search.

Princess Keekee

[WannaComeHome]

Originally Posted by BostonMom2Four

Are there surrounding towns that have much better schools than Nashua? Just curious...

Sure, the schools in Hollis are great (regional with Brookline for middle & high school). But they're kinda expensive towns tax-wise.

[Valerie C]

Besides Nashua (which does have good schools, by the way) nearby in Southern NH is Londonderry, which I believe is the top rated in the state (most of the reason we moved here) Londonderry does have public kindergarden, if that is a consideration for you. Derry next door also has great schools, and their high school is the highly rated Pinkerton Academy.

A favorite site of mine for school information (in addition to the GreatSchools.net that Princess Keekee mentioned) is NH School District Profile

This board is a great place to ask your questions before you move out this way

[windchime]

In all fairness to the Nashua School District, I have heard that many parents complain that the lines of communication at the middle and high school levels are less than satisfactory, no matter what school your child is attending. Elementary teachers keep closer communication with parents because they are dealing with young children and more issues tend to come up. Besides, your child has one teacher and he/she most likely sends you notices monthly or even weekly. I was also going to suggest Hollis for a close town with good schools (much smaller schools), but I think it would be difficult to find rental in that town. Nashua really has many opportunities and recreational activities for all ages, although you could live in Hollis and still have those benefits from the city.

[tjl]

Hi I currently live in Nashua and I would say off of Exit 6 is probably the best area. It is clean, pretty quiet has a bit of shopping close by as well as county setting in Hollis which is 5 minutes away.
There is two elementary schools just on broad St. (Birch Hill is the better of the two but Broad St is also pretty good. Also there is Nashua North HS which is only a few years old. Lastly not too far away is all three middle schools. Penichuck Middle is the best and that is right off of exit 7E about 5 minutes driving time.
Hope that helps
TJL-Nashua NH